The God within: Rituals, beliefs and experiences of New Age seekers in a large Southwestern city Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors McIlwaine, Mary Kris Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 24/09/2021 15:56:02 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/290079 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI fiims the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. 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Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 THE GOD WITHIN: RITUALS, BELIEFS AND EXPERIENCES OF NEW AGE SEEBCERS IN A LARGE SOUTHWESTERN CITY by Mary Kris Mcllwaine Copyright (c) Mary Kris Mcllwaine 2001 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 200 1 UMi Number. 3016449 Copyright 2001 by Mcltwaine, Mary Kris All rights reserved. (ft UMI UMI Microform 3016449 Copyright 2001 by Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company. Ail rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA ® GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Mary Kris Mcllwaine entitled Within: Rituals, Beliefs auid Experiences of New Age Seekers in a Large Southwestern City and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy '/^Af aowM / / Dat< CalviH Mosrill DaefeV i-'}( - o 1 Date Don Grant Date Date Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copy of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be acceptlfed yig the dissertation requirement. Dl.s4jurtatioi^ D^ctpjs^ David Snow, CalMorrllI Daie 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfllhnent of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under the rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgement of the source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotations from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder SIGNED: 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful for the help of many others who made the writing and completion of this dissertation possible. Colleagues Richard Hutchinson, Angela Yancik, Mark Chaves, Leslie Gates, Andrew Jones, Saylor Breckenridge, Allison Munch-Rotolo, James Ranger-Moore, and Bill Bxmis all read chapter drafts at one time or another and provided much needed feedback. It is chiefly due to their words of encouragement that I persevered with the project through some of its darkest hours. Colleague Liz Borland made great sacrifices of time and personal comfort as I entered the home stretch for the project, when I was most in need of organizational slack. She has my undying gratitude for having put my interests before her own, and for having done so with good cheer, to boot. Though I fear I have been a thorn in his side, I am grateful for every moment David Snow has spent with me, pushing me to be more empirically grounded than I perhaps have even the aptitude for. Without the clarity of insight and sociological vision of Calvin Morrill, this project would have never been half of what it is, and I am grateful for Cal's patient guidance. Although my worldview has grown, over the years, ever more at odds with those of family members, this has not stopped them from standing by me even during this project. I am grateful to family members Gwen, Katherine and Curt, especially, who even went so far as to locate scholarly and popular press resources that 1 had requested or that they thought would be helpful for the project. Finally, I would like to thank Albert Bergesen. I am the sociologist I am today, partly because A1 has modelled for me joy in the everyday application of sociological imagination. I know no other sociologist with Al's sociological imagination. I am grateful and glad to have A1 in my life as professor, as mentor and as friend. I can only hope that after the conferral of the doctoral degree I will not become so "insufferable" as to preclude Al's wishing to co-author some great pieces of sociology with me-perhaps even some of the ten or so articles I envision as spin-offs from this dissertation. 5 For Angela 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS UST OF FIGURES 10 LIST OF TABLES 11 ABSTRACT 12 CHAPTER L INTRODUCTION 14 Significance of the Study 14 Sociology of Religion Uses of the Study 16 General Sociological Theory Uses of the Study 19 Social Movements Scholarship Uses of the Study 20 Research Design: The Value of a Broad-Span Case Study 22 Current Scholarly Literature on the Movement 27 Rituals-focussed Literature on the New Age Movement 27 Beliefs-focussed Literature on the New Age Movement 33 Impacts-focussed Literature on the New Age Movement 34 Focal Questions and Overview of Subsequent Chapters 35 Methods Chapter Overview 35 Context Chapter Focal Questions and Key Findings. 36 Rituals Chapter Focal Questions and Key Findings 37 Beliefs Chapter Focal Questions and Key Findings 39 Experiences Chapter Focal Questions and Key Findings 41 Conclusion Chapter Overview 44 CHAPTER 2. METHODS: DATA SOURCES AND ANALYTIC STRATEGIES 46 Starting the Study 46 Studying Rituals 56 Studying Beliefs: Two Codings 57 Research Design 57 Analytic Strategies 59 Studying Experiences 64 Experiential States' "Modes". 66 Constructing a Phenomenology of the New Agers' Lifeworld. 68 Experiential States: Positive, Negative and "Change-State". 71 Chapter Summary 73 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued CHAPTERS. THE MOVEMENT'S LOCAL ORGANIZATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC CONTEXT 75 Chapter Aims 75 Dustville 75 Organizational Structure of the Movement Locally 82 Media's Effects on Local Organizational Structure 84 Churches' Effects on Local Organizational Structure 87 Demographic Traits of Participants 90 Chapter Summary 93 CHAPTER 4. RITUALS: PREFERENCE AND SOLIDARITY EFFECTS 96 Chapter Aims 96 Theoretical Considerations 97 Defining and Observing Rituals 97 Rituals Understood as Berger and Luckmann's "Externalization". 98 Ritual Acts as Generative of Religious Value 99 Findings: Rituals as Preference and Solidarity Mechanism... 100 Material-recognition Rituals (Rituals of "Having") 101 Healing Rituals (Rituals of Healing") 105 Group-focus Rituals (Rituals of "Holding") 110 Spirit-connections Rituals (Rituals of "Hearing") 113 Psyche-reorientation Rituals (Rituals of "Harnessing") 116 Findings Discussion 118 Chapter Summary 121 CHAPTERS. BELIEFS: BELIEFS AS A SYSTEM AND THE PROCESSES OF TAKING ON MOVEMENT BELIEFS 124 Chapter Aims 125 Theoretical Considerations 126 Defining and Capturing Beliefs 126 Beliefs Understood as Berger and Luckmann's "Objectification". 127 Beliefs in Movements: Diagnostic, Prognostic and Motivational. 128 Findings on Dustville New Agers' Beliefs 129 Overview: Three Key Beliefs 129 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued Diagnostic Beliefs 130 Prognostic Beliefs 135 Motivational Beliefs 138 Efficacy Inducements/Knowing Actions "Will Work" 139 Moral Inducements/Getting to "Live Out Your Purpose" 140 Wellbeing Inducements/"The Peace of God" 141 Other Inducements: Connectedness and Abundance 142 Beliefs in Balance: Diagnosis, Prognosis and Motivation 143 Functions of Core Beliefs in the Life of the Movement 146 Socialization: Taking On Movement Beliefs 158 Factors Affecting the Viability of Socialization 158 Socialization Processes 161 Ideology and Experience: The Movement in Social Space 164 Chapter Summary 172 CHAPTER 6. EXPERIENCES: IDEAL AND REAL CULTURE OVERLAPS IN A MOVEMENT MARKED BY POSITIVE EXPERIENCES 175 Illustrative Vignette 175 Chapter Aims 178 Theoretical Considerations 180 Defining/Conceptualizing Experience 180 Experiences Understood as Berger and Luckmann's "Extemalization". 180 Interactions, Actions, Beliefs and Values in the Vignette 181 Interacting With Spirits 183 An Action—Guided Meditation and a Belief—the Power of Mind. 189 Love: a Key New Age Movement Value 191 Healing in the Movement 194 Summary Remarks 196 General Theoretical Remarks on New Agers' Experience 198 American Religion: Experience-Emphasis to the Fore 198 Freedom, Order: Things Religion Can Offer. 200 New Agers' Emphasis on Experience/Freedom: Possible Causes 203 Causes, Effects of Experience-emphasis: the New Age's "Religious Logic".